On May 9th, the 68th anniversary of Moscow’s re-energized Victory Day celebrating the Soviet Union’s triumph in World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be on the world stage from Moscow. Arguably the principal benefactor of the “Reset Button,” Putin won an unprecedented third term largely through getting the better deal in the New START agreement on nuclear arms reduction, and emboldening anti-U.S. regimes in Iran, Syria, Cuba and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has now inherited one of Russia’s principal threats, Chechen terrorists. The Chechen connection to the Boston Marathon twin IED explosions has thrust U.S.-Russia counterterrorism cooperation back into the spotlight. Did the FBI drop the ball on intelligence provided by Russia on Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 or have Putin’s autocratic actions against Russian dissidents undercut the credibility of his intelligence services? Or both?
Featuring:
Dr. Evgueni Novikov
former senior official in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, author of new book "Rethinking the Reset Button: Understanding Contemporary Russian Foreign Policy."
E. Wayne Merry
Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council, U.S. career diplomat with various overseas posts including in Moscow.
J. Patrick Murray
retired U.S. Army Colonel and former military representative at the U.S. State Dept. and U.N. Security Council, served in various overseas posts including as a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) specializing in Russia.
Josh Rogin (moderator)
senior correspondent covering national security and foreign policy at Foreign Policy Magazine.
